30A St Patrick's Day Parade & Festival to Rock Gulf Place Mar 14

The 8th Annual 30A St Patrick's Day Parade and Festival will take place on Saturday, March 14 in the color filled beach town of Gulf Place. The local parade along Scenic 30A will collide with the day's celebration in the Gulf Place amphitheater. Festivities will include Celtic rock bands, activities for the whole family (including pups), and even an Irish wedding for one lucky couple. Everyone's Irish for a day! What a great day to be green in SoWal - don't miss the largest St. Patrick's celebration of its kind in Northwest Florida.

St. Patrick's Day festivies begin at noon at Gulf Place and last through 8:00 p.m. During all the fun, the parade will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Scenic Highway 30A (between Grayton Beach and Hwy 83 in Blue Mountain Beach) and heads 4 miles west ending at Gulf Place where the festivities continue. This year's Grand Marshal is Catherine O' Sullivan who hails from Cork Ireland.Following the parade, kids will enjoy entertainment in the "wee folk" area and costume prizes for fairy princesses and pirates will be up for grabs. Children are also welcome to participate in "Pot O' Gold" treasure hunts, face painting and more.

Live Celtic entertainment will continue throughout the day starting with Dismal Creek, who will pay tribute to bluegrass roots with Irish jigs, reels and brilliant banjo picking. Then by popular demand, Cleghorn will take the stage, followed by Drake School of Irish Dance and Celtic rock band Searson.

As an added twist to this year's festivities, an Irish style wedding will take place for one lucky couple. Brides and grooms are invited to enter to win a special Irish theme wedding at the 8th Annual 30A St Patrick's Festival and Parade. Event organizers hope that a kilted groom can join his bride in matrimony, complete with bag pipes and a huge crowd of witnesses. To be considered for the wedding nuptials, an entry form is available on the event website at www.30afestival.com. A designated number of tickets will be set aside for friends and family of the bride and groom.

Tickets for the 30A St. Patrick's Day Festival begin at $10 for adults, $5 for kids and $35 for VIP Whiskey/Beer tasting and are available now, along with a full schedule of events, at www.30afestival.com.

Proceeds benefit Alaqua Animal Refuge and Fore Her. Fore Her is a charity that provides financial support for local women battling breast cancer. Alaqua Animal Refuge is a no-kill animal sanctuary and adoption center located in Freeport, Florida. The refuge has placed more than 10,000 animals of all kinds since its inception in 2007.